Virtual Tour of the Ridge Route

Virtual Tour of the Ridge Route

Introduction

One of the first roads to be constructed under the Highway Bonds was the “Castaic-Tejon Ridge Road”, known today as the “Ridge Route”. Hailed as a marvel of engineering in its time, it would last as the main road from Los Angeles to Bakersfield for 18 years. The roadway exists today in segments and is in part federally protected on the National Register of Historic Places. The Ridge Route was the first major highway project and first new mountain road project undertaken by the State.

Surveys began for the Ridge Route in 1912, mostly following a ridge line which ran from Castaic to Gorman. Construction commenced shortly after. Using mostly manual labor, consisting of picks, shovels, and Fresno scrapers, the highway was opened in October 1915. At first, the highway was only oiled and graded. Starting in 1917, the highway was closed while it paved with a 20′ wide slab of reinforced concrete. Paving was completed by early 1920.

As there was only a finite amount of money for the project, this route was used to keep costs down. Following the ridge kept costs down as no bridges were needed. Keeping costs down did have its problems though. The maximum grade allowed on the Ridge Route was 6%. To keep this gradient, many curves were added to the roadway. So many curves had to be used, in fact, that the total curvature added to over 110 complete circles in the 30 mile stretch. This fact would quickly make the highway a very dangerous and slow one. Collisions became commonplace. A speed limit of 15 mph was put into place along the entire road from Castaic to Gorman as a result of this.

Speed limit sign posted near Castaic.

Many sections of the road needed to be realigned for safety. Many of the cuts were “daylighted”, a process in which the hillside is cut back to increase visibility. In other places, the roadway was widened where it was possible. These realigned sections were paved with an early version of asphalt paving. Much of these early paving surfaces are still around today. By the late 1920’s, it was evident that this work was only a temporary measure. A new route had to be found. This option was both more economical and less disrupting to traffic. The new route, called the Ridge Route Alternate, was finally opened on October 29, 1933, completely bypassing the old Ridge Route. This bypass forever relegated the old road to a scenic side road traveled by few. On September 25, 1997, the Ridge Route from just north of Templin Highway to Sandberg, within the Angeles National Forest, was granted historic status on the National Register of Historic Places. This designation has helped with the preservation and restoration of this historic roadway,

A rare smooth section of concrete, near the Halfway Inn.

Current Status – 2017:

The Ridge Route is closed to motorized vehicles from just north of Templin Highway to the Tumble Inn. Initially, landslides and oil pipeline breaks closed the roadway in January 2005. It has not fully reopened since and is in danger of not opening again due to right of way relinquishments by the Forest Service and the County of Los Angeles Department of Public Works. These relinquishments have put this public roadway into private hands, which don’t intend to open the road to the public again. This must be corrected before it is too late.

Please contact Ridgeroute.com for more information on how you can help this historic roadway. Harrison Scott needs your help and support! There is also an online petition – Please sign if you haven’t already!

Video from November 2015 showing the condition of the roadway from the Tumble Inn to State 138.

RSS Links

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A few months ago, I decided to purchase a new domain in the anticipation of moving to northern California. Whether or not that move takes place, I still own that domain. As such, this site may be expanding in scope to cover a few more counties. The new site, NorCalRegion.Com, is still a work in progess, but will cover highways and geology in the northern half of the state. Where that line will be drawn is still being worked out. Look for updates in the coming months for these changes and expansions.

There is a group in Bakersfield trying to get historic route signs posted on the original alignment of US 99 through the Bakersfield area. They could use your support. Check out the site below for more information.

Los Angeles County Department of Public Works has a wealth of information available on their website. With a bit of patience and some looking around, you can find quite a few treasures using their mapping application. I’ve so far found the original survey data for the “Bridge To Nowhere” roadway, plans for other roadways that were never built in the Sierra Pelona Mountains, as well as the forest service permit for the Shoemaker Canyon Road that was never completed.